Modi will kick off a nationwide challenge by cleaning a portion of a road and then “tagging” some prominent persons to do the same.

According to sources, Modi will kick off a nationwide challenge by cleaning a portion of a road or locality and then “tagging” some prominent persons to do the same — much like the ice bucket challenge.

A “clean India challenge”, almost on the lines of the ALS ice bucket challenge that went viral across the world recently, may unfold itself across social media platforms on Thursday. And the first person to take up the challenge may be none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.

According to sources, Modi will kick off a nationwide challenge by cleaning a portion of a road or locality and then “tagging” some prominent persons to do the same — much like the ice bucket challenge.

The idea of the “clean India challenge” is to upload “before and after” videos — showing the person cleaning the area — on social media platforms like Facebook, and naming or tagging people of their choice to do the same. Modi, sources said, will tag famous names including some industrialists, cabinet colleagues and other celebrities.

A BJP leader said the PM would launch a massive campaign on Thursday and it would “be something that will inspire youth and encourage others to follow his steps.” Pointing out that social media would be a key platform to spread the message, he said, “The entire social media platform will be flooded with the Prime Minister’s messages and the campaign will continue till October 2, 2019… He wants key people in the government and in the private sector to help him make it a success.”

Instead of making the Swachha Bharat Abhiyaan — to be launched Thursday — a one-day affair, sources said the PM was keen to involve the entire country. The BJP’s backend IT team is working overtime to make the initiative, anchored by mygov.in, a hit on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said the PM wanted a sustained campaign. “He is not someone who does anything for a photo-op. He started talking about this mission since his first speech in Parliament and he wants to get it done. So all measures will be taken to ensure the campaign’s success,” he said.